If you’re trying to use the NBI 2 guide, wait. dylar over at MyDellMini gave me the single best recommendation I have seen from anyone in a while. It’s a program that will make the whole process a lot easier and is almost foolproof. Update: Looks like it has to wait until tomorrow. Sorry for the wait. If you think you can use it properly, you can give the software a try: http://bit.ly/Mv4Sq
At long last, I’m done updating the main guides. This is the quickest I have been able to update all of the guides, but that’s because I spent most of my time this evening focused solely on completing them.
The big update for the NBI 2 is a flat image based on NetbookInstaller 0.8.3 Final. I’ve also changed the Windows instructions so that all three major versions (XP, Vista, 7) use the same instructions. I found a bunch of errors throughout as well during the process. I had to remove the Windows screenshots because they were horribly inaccurate with the new instructions, I will try to upload new ones in the next few days.
So that should be it, besides adapting the updates for the MyDellMini Guides section.
I bit the bullet today: 10.6.0 is currently running on my Mini 10v, with 10.6.2 downloading as I type. One major reason for my hesitancy is the fact that I am running a rather touchy triple boot setup. I could get either Windows XP or Windows 7 installed with Mac OS X, but not both. I need XP for some legacy software (okay, it’s just Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition, LAN multiplayer requires IPX) and of course I’m going to have the latest Windows OS if I’m going to multi-boot. Since they don’t play friendly together with the usual hybrid GUID/MBR partition scheme that NetbookInstaller helps set up, I needed a MBR-only solution to fix it.
Granted, this was two months ago. It’s been working fine, but it took a lot of trial and error to get there. You can see why I would hesitate to mess around with it anymore. When I got Snow Leopard, I fully intended to install it, but I needed it to install on MBR, and Apple had changed the OSInstall.mpkg structure so that the Leopard MBR mode wouldn’t work.
Well, after two months I am still no closer to actually figuring out what is needed for the mod. I had to download two different pre-hacked files before it would actually work. Before I started the install process, I made a bit-for-bit backup of my harddrive using the dd command line tool just in case it screwed up everything.
I was actually very surprised that I didn’t run into more problems. The only real gripes were a very inaccurate progress bar during the install and slow performance on the first boot after that. A little help from NetbookInstaller and all is well again.
Like most others, I’m not impressed immediately by any of the upgrades, but perhaps over the next few days things will become more apparent.
Update: I just finished the 10.6.2 update. I’m impressed again by how easy it was. Instead of the normal Combo Update route, I was able to just run NetbookInstaller and then use the Software Update app. Of course, now it says the CPU is a Core Solo, and I did have a minor hiccup with sound (I had also installed some additional kexts that were conflicting with it) but overal it was really easy.
After a lot of feedback from several users, I have updated to guide with more accurate information. The NCD ISO has been done away with in favor of an actual USB disk image, which is more compatible. Also, Tiger instructions have received a necessary addition concerning the partition of the larger USB drive, and Windows received an important note about Windows 7 issues. Let me know if there are any more nagging problems still lurking around!
Several people have reported problems with Windows 7 and the dd tool used in the NBI2 guide. As I was replying to e-mail, an interesting idea was proposed: is Windows 7 64-bit the issue? I don’t know if dd was meant to work on 64-bit machines, or if it is just Windows 7. So if anyone who has had issues could report back with the error code and their version of Win7 (32 or 64-bit) by leaving a comment, it would be appreciated.
So I was watching CSI (it’s a rerun apparently) but a new Get a Mac advertisement just aired: Broken Promises, and boy did they choose a great day to air it, with Windows 7 just releasing less than 24 hours ago. Oh man, I actually let a laugh out, which is not common for me. I find a lot of things humorous, but not so much to actually laugh. Trust me, it’s good. Granted, Mac isn’t perfect, especially on non-Apple hardware, but I think everyone can agree when Mac says, “I think I’ve heard this before.”
On Twitter: